Networks may include virtual local area networks (VLANs) which allow virtual partitioning of a network without modifying the physical connections within the network. A VLAN may typically be a switched network that is logically segmented or partitioned, rather than based on a physical or geographical basis. Nodes within the network may each be members of one or more VLANs. Membership of the nodes within each VLAN may change, requiring updates to the network.
VLAN switching may commonly be accomplished through frame tagging where traffic originated in a particular virtual LAN may carry a specific VLAN identifier (VLAN ID). The VLAN ID may allow switching devices to make forwarding decisions for the packet.
However, communicating updated VLAN membership across a network may create significant overhead. Also, the number of different VLAN IDs may be quite limited, e.g., 4095 different VLANs may be used in some cases.